Two police and a fireman among dead in shooting tragedy

A man shot dead four people before being killed by police in the Mediterranean city of Valencia on Sunday, state radio reported. The 59-year-old man, who had a history of mental illness, set his own apartment ablaze and then opened fire on police and firefighters who rushed to the scene, the radio said. Two policemen, one firefighter and an elderly neighbour were also apparently killed. Police shot the gunman and he was taken to a local hospital, where he died of his wounds before doctors could operate, the radio said. There were no immediate details of what sparked the bloody rampage. Among the dead was a 60-year old woman who lived in the same building and apparently entered the man's apartment after the fire began. Authorities at first thought the fire was caused by an accidental gas explosion, but later determined the man set the blaze himself, the Spanish news agency.